Active but Critical Non-Partisanship: A Swedish-American Newspaper Editor and the Political Realignment of the 1850s

A C T I V E B U T C R I T I C A L NON-PARTISANSHIP:
A S W E D I S H - A M E R I C A N NEWSPAPER E D I T OR
A N D T H E P O L I T I C A L R E A L I G N M E N T OF
T H E 1850s
W I L L I A M C. B E Y ER
"It is true: the middle way is a small thread, quite difficult to
find," but with God's help one must try; so counseled immigrant,
clergyman, and newspaper editor, Tufve Nilsson Hasselquist, in
1855.1 Three years earlier, filled with disestablishmentarian and
republican sympathies, Hasselquist had been pulled to the
United States.2 Once on land he soon found himself amid more
complex religious, social, and political currents than he seems to
have anticipated before his crossing. Hasselquist's attempts to
find his way through the complexity of mid-nineteenth century
America have been in part recorded in H e m l a n d e t , D e t g a m l a
o c h d e t N y a (The Homeland, the O l d and the New), the
newspaper he founded in 1855 and edited until 1858. This
semi-weekly was to last 60 years and thus become the first
successful Swedish-language newspaper published in the
United States. Hasselquist himself was to become the first
president and guiding light of the Augustana Synod—the largest
Swedish organization i n America—as well as the founder and
president of Augustana College, the first and most important
Swedish-American college. A l l of this, however, lay in the
uncertain but promising future when Hasselquist published his
first issue of H e m l a n d e t in Galesburg, Illinois, on January 3,
1855.3
Much of the recent historical work about the United States
during the nineteenth century attempts to shed light on mass
political behavior by analyzing voting returns. This essay uses a
more traditional source, a newspaper, to learn something about a
more traditional historical subject, an articulate interpreter of
events. The opinionated, personal journalism in H e m l a n d e t is
the subject of this analysis of Hasselquist's political ideology
from 1855 to 1858.4 While account must be taken of Hasselquist
in dialog with some of his readers, the letters to the editor are too
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T.N. HASSELQUIST
few to justify calling this a study of Swedish-American public
opinion. The books of E r i c Foner, Don Fehrenbacher, and
George Mayer about the Republican party in the 1850s together
with works about Scandinavian-American immigration history
provide the ideological context in which Hasselquist thought
and worked.5
A close reading of the political commentary in H e m l a n d e t
d u r i n g H a s s e l q u i s t ' s e d i t o r s h i p leads one to two major
conclusions. First, even this conventional historical source
supports recent criticisms of those who would find ethno-cultural
factors central to the political realignment of the 1850s.6 Slavery
rather than ethnicity or religion is definitely the salient issue
both for Hasselquist and those readers of H e m l a n d e t who write
to him. When broaching party preference, Hasselquist invokes
ethnicity much more to encourage politically active but critical
n o n - p a r t i s a n s h i p than to disparage Democrats or exalt
Republicans. Second, H e m l a n d e t is not the unquestioningly
Republican party sheet that O. Fritiof Ander, Hasselquist's
biographer and one of the major figures in Swedish-American
historiography, has made it out to be. Ander portrays Hasselquist
as a G r e e l e y e s q u e propagandist for whom becoming a
Republican was "almost a matter of salvation."7 Hasselquist,
243
however, repeatedly declares himself to be against slavery rather
than for any party, despite his activities on behalf of the
Republicans. As a result, H e m l a n d e t more closely resembles the
"non-political anti-slavery" advocates Eric Foner describes than
the ardent Republican Editor Ander suggests.8
Before emigrating at the age of thirty-six, Hasselquist came to
be considered something of a low-church, pietistic radical within
the Swedish state church. A popular debater and preacher, he
advocated church reform and even helped publish a religious
newspaper favoring the disestablishment of the state church.9
He objected to the established church as being "most certainly
inconsistent with both the Word of God and all experience."10
The puritanical measures he instituted to improve the morality
and temperance of his parishioners helped bring about a
Wesleyian type of revival within his congregations, while his
criticisms incurred h im the animosity of church officials.11
When in 1852 the Swedish Lutheran congregation in
Galesburg, I l l i n o i s , c a l l e d Hasselquist to be its pastor, he
a c c e p t e d w i t h l i t t l e h e s i t a t i o n . The rough and tumble
competition for souls Hasselquist found in the U.S. was to
temper his free-church enthusiasm;1 2 however, many of his
commitments on the North American prairie are consistent with
his career before leaving Sweden: puritan ethics, temperance
advocacy, popular ministry, and no reluctance for public activity.
Hasselquist spent his first years in the U.S. establishing himself
in Galesburg and the surrounding territory. His conduct during
the cholera epidemic in 1854, his low-church accessibility, and
his strong leadership in the chaotic frontier settlements account
for his pivotal role in the "religious awakening" in Galesburg
and neighboring Knoxville i n 1855. By 1856 Hasselquist's
congregations had grown sizeably.13
A contemporary notes with understatement that Hasselquist
was "most assiduously o c c u p i e d " from 1855 to 1858.14
Hasselquist managed to minister to three congregations and
several preaching stations; almost single-handedly publish, edit,
and write two newspapers (after July 1856, D e t Rätta H e m l a n d e t
[The Real Homeland], a religious paper, was issued bi-monthly
in alternate weeks from H e m l a n d e t ) ; lead and participate in
church meetings at various levels; and travel as a clerical
ambassador to such distant places as Minnesota, Indiana,
P e n n s y l v a n i a , and N e w York. D e s p i t e all this a c t i v i t y,
244
Hasselquist retained a keen sense of his constituency. Drawing
on his background as a farmer's son and appealing to the prairie
farmers' everyday experience, he could preach popular sermons
that, for example, pictured heaven as the place with a homestead
law of long standing, where one without charge need only stake a
c l a i m . 1 5 H e m l a n d e t , thus, was only one of the tasks which
Hasselquist had in hand in the late 1850s.
Potentially the membership of a Swedish Lutheran free
church i n America and the readership of H e m l a n d e t were
v i r t u a l l y i d e n t i c a l : simply, the great majority of Swedish
immigrants to the U.S. T h e newspaper, therefore, was
understandably conceived of both as broadly and yet as
specifically as possible. The paper would carry the political as
well as religious news from both Europe and America,1 6 and
initial subscribers were signed up from Iowa to New York, and
from Vermont to Texas.1 7 The Midwest, however, received most
of Hasselquist's attention. Already i n the first issue, it is
announced that publication would be moved as soon as possible
from Galesburg to Chicago, "the midpoint of the Great W e s t , " 1 8
and the unofficial capital of Swedish-America.
This double focus on the sacred and the secular paid off, both
for the burgeoning church and the fledgling paper. Certain
circumstances helped. Sweden's Compulsory Education Act of
1842 had helped promote wide-spread literacy,1 9 and whatever
Hasselquist's aversion to the state church, all Swedish emigrants
were at least nominally Lutheran. Between 1855 and 1859, when
H e m l a n d e t was turned over to the Swedish Lutheran Publishing
Society and moved to Chicago, the church grew from a handful of
congregations and two pastors to twenty-nine congregations with
3,000 members served by thirteen ministers.2 0 During the same
time, H e m l a n d e t went from 400 to 1,000 subscribers.2 1 A serious
competitor for the Swedish readership did not appear until
1866.2 2 Not that attempts were not made. Four other Swedish
language papers failed for lack of support during the late 1850s.23
And not that other alternatives d id not exist. Besides, of course,
newspapers in English, Norwegian language papers had been
published i n the U.S. since 1847. In Europe, Swedes and
Norwegians had mutually intelligible languages and a political
union under a common king. A l l of the Norwegian-American
papers, however, were tainted with past or present support of
" t h e D e m o c r a c y " ; most were p u b l i s h e d i n southeastern
245
Wisconsin; none could proclaim unequivocal political a n d
religious aversion to slavery; and none, after all, was Swedish.24
The early issues of H e m l a n d e t try to make sense of the strange
U.S. political and social situation in the midst of the turbulent
1850s. Over and over again Hasselquist calls attention to
contradictions.2 5 Well aware of the current political upheaval, he
repeatedly tries to discern emerging political alignments.26
Under the rubric, " T h e General Condition of America," he takes
s t o c k . 2 7 The strong p r o h i b i t i o n movement and American
religious piety bode well, but inconsistencies abound. "The
most grandiose freedom and yet the most degrading slavery exist
side by side i n the republic": the critical stance is quintessential
Hasselquist.
In these initial issues, Hasselquist finds the central political
questions to be temperance, slavery, and the pernicious forces
causing the Know-Nothing reaction. He praises Maine-Law
legislation and more informal sanctions against strong d r i n k . 2 8
Slavery, it is noted, has already threatened to dissolve the Union
once, and even though that threat has been ameliorated, slavery
w i l l remain a most dangerous institution as long as it survives.
Catholics, together with Mormons and free-thinking German
l i b e r a l s , themselves are to blame for the Know-Nothings'
excessive h o s t i l i t y toward foreigners and Catholics, their
secrecy, and their affinity for the wrong side of the slavery
question. By spring of 1855, Hasselquist has moved through
these ruminations and decided that immoderate pro-slavery,
nativist, and anti-temperance forces are closely allied if not one
and the same.29
Hasselquist's positions are sharpened through debate with his
readers. When a correspondent reminds the editor that the
Know-Nothings are officially neutral on slavery, Hasselquist
finds that remarkable, since the question "undeniably is the most
important and decisive" before the country. Professing his own
political neutrality so that he might retain " an objective, moral
standpoint," Hasselquist finds it disappointing that a Swede
would not find slavery reprehensible in itself even if " a l l the
slaves in the whole of America were treated in the best possible
m a n n e r . " 3 0 Svante Palm, a leader of the Swedish colony in
Austin, Texas,3 1 writes that many Texas Swedes do not object to
slavery because slaves i n the South are better off than the
working classes in Sweden and because being white in the South
246
is quite simply an advantage. Although appending a conciliatory
note, Hasselquist replies caustically:
Ought not one then suggest that the working classes in
Sweden immediately enslave themselves and their small
ones to those who could afford to buy them since their
condition would then, of course, be improved?
In the same sense that it is advantageous to be born a duke
or a prince i n the O l d World, it is preferable to be born a
m i l l i o n a i r e here; is this a republican [i.e., egalitarian]
stance? C o n g e n i t a l p r i v i l e g e is p r i z e d less and less
everywhere; in the South, however, it climbs in value.3 2
Admitting slavery to be an evil, another Swedish American in the
South asks how his countrymen who have settled in the North
can possibly ally themselves with a fanatical party that would
coerce the southern states into depriving citizens of their
fortunes, contrary to the rights of the C o n s t i t u t i o n and
elementary self-determination. Hasselquist again affirms his
non-partisanship and points out that "The writer admits that
slavery is an evil; but if it is so, then it must be abolished."
Hasselquist judges trying to win Swedes over to a pro-slavery
stance fruitless, given the number of anti-slavery articles that he
says have been submitted but are too strident to be printed.3 3
Other letters celebrating the enactment of I l l i n o i s ' new
prohibition law, urging housewives to avoid becoming like
American spendthrifts, praising Senator Chase's Republicans or
I n d e p e n d e n t Democrats as the only a l t e r n a t i v e to the
Know-Nothings and the Hunker Democrats, and describing
Fremont as the Kansans' only hope for a free state are printed
without comment by the editor.3 4 Through all of the editor's
responses, it is non-partisanship and anti-slavery that are
affirmed repeatedly.
Hasselquist evaluates the new political alignments as they
grow weaker and stronger; the touchstone is slavery. The Whigs
are not mentioned at all. By May of 1855, after Hasselquist's
i n i t i a l ambivalence, he is p r e d i c t i n g the collapse of the
Know-Nothings because of the stupidity of their basic principle
that "one is incisive, capable, and worthy of public office, etc.,
only if one is born in this c o u n t r y . " 3 5 What is worse: the
Know-Nothings' " d r i v i n g force" is identified as the "slavery
interest e x c l u s i v e l y . " 3 6
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After the Know-Nothings split on slavery in June, 1855,
H e m l a n d e t notes briefly that the party, now calling itself the
" R e p u b l i c a n " party, is reorganizing in each northern state.
H e m l a n d e t ' s restricted format disallows reprinting the Illinois
party's anti-slavery and slightly pro-immigrant platform, but
Hasselquist promises more on the party later.3 7 Subsequent
issues mention the Republicans and Hasselquist's own election
as vice-president of the Galesburg Anti-Nebraska meeting which
endorses the Illinois Republicans' Bloomington resolutions of
May 1856; however, nothing more specific about the party is
forthcoming until Hasselquist comes out in support of the
Republicans with a carefully worded endorsement in July 1856:
Since H e m l a n d e t has always stood and w i l l continue to
stand on the side of those who work against the terrible
institution of slavery in this country and since we for that
reason wish every success to the Republican party and even
want to do what we can to show our fellow Swedish-
Americans the necessity of giving their votes this fall to the
Republican party's presidential candidate, Col. Fremont, it
is certainly no more than right that we report the above
mentioned party's principles.3 8
The point here is that Hasselquist supports the Republican party
in the 1856 election because it promises to be able to get rid of
slavery.
While H e m l a n d e t ' s editor continues to move ever closer to the
Republicans after the spring of 1856, he never transforms the
paper into a Republican party sheet. The Sack of Lawrence,
Kansas, and the c a n i n g of Senator Sumner by Senator
Brooks—the two events that, according to Mayer, galvanized so
many Anti-Nebraskaites into Republicans3 9—did not publicly
convert H e m l a n d e t . In fact, the only kind words Hasselquist
ever has for Douglas come on the occasion of Douglas' objections
to Sumner's speech that prompted the beating! Apparently
Hasselquist felt that Sumner deserved what he received for his
provocative speech.40
When the rival D e n s v e n s k a R e p u b l i k a n e n (The Swedish
R e p u b l i c a n ) c r i t i c i z e s H e m l a n d e t ' s n o n - p a r t i s a n s h i p,
Hasselquist denies that " H e m l a n d e t has been neutral but rather
has in every issue i n some way stated its position with respect to
the activities of the slave-party."4 1 This rhetorical sidestep is
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elegant, but more importantly here, it suggests Hasselquist's
view of fundamental party alignment and definition.
The Democrats receive little attention during the paper's first
year. Illinois Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas, though, is
charged again and again with having been duped by the
pro-slavery conspiracy and being responsible for the disastrous
effects of the Kansas-Nebraska A c t . 4 2 Beginning i n January 1856,
Hasselquist sees the Democrats identifying as a party with the
pro-slavery i n t e r e s t s . 4 3 The party comes under increasing
scrutiny—and censure. Calling Douglas "the Democratic party's
leader," Hasselquist uses the senator's "We mean to subdue
you" speech in July 1856 to ask:
And what now is the Democratic party's major goal? Yes,
that mighty and u n t i l recently l i b e r a l party has now
completely joined with the slave-party and works hand in
hand exclusively with the latter . . . for the retention and
extension of slavery.4 4
At the conclusion of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Douglas
and his supporters are judged wrong on eight counts: 1) Douglas
argues that the country c a n exist indefinitely divided between
slave and free; 2) Douglas, through his wife, is a slaveholder in
Louisiana; 3) Senator Brown of Mississippi is only one among
many slaveholders flocking to Douglas' support; 4) "popular
sovereignty" means simply "slaveholders' sovereignty"; 5)
Douglasite appeals to Swedes are senseless because Swedes
come from a country "where as long ago as 1333 it was made law
that no child of Christian parents was allowed to be a slave!"; 6)
because " s l a v e " and " s l a v e r y " are not mentioned in the
Constitution, and "Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Mason, and
others of the Union's founders were abolitionists"; 7) the
assertion of the inherent inequality of Negroes is a smear used by
Douglas to appeal to the arrogance of whites and ignores facts
like the three black prizewinners of a recent competition at a
Paris university; and 8) Douglasites use dirty campaign tactics
l i k e i n c o r r e c t l y r e p o r t i n g L i n c o l n ' s speeches, importing
Irish—"this poor people"—to Illinois to vote, announcing work
i n distant places i n order to draw off qualified voters, and
offering free whiskey i n exchange for votes.4 5 Note that only the
reference to the Irish touches ethno-cultural nerve-endings; all
eight charges, rather, center on slavery.
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By election time in 1858, Hasselquist sees the battle lines
clearly:
The campaign is being waged between the Democratic and
the Republican parties, which is the same as saying between
those who are working for the retention and extension of
slavery and those who want to see it contained in its present
area and even there eventually starved out, so that the
United States can be made into that which it can only claim
to be, a free land. The slavery question drags into its great
whirlpool all other questions. The Republican party is the
only one that can and w i l l curtail the slave-party's power.4 6
Slavery, not any of the ethno-cultural facets of nativism—not
prohibition, not anti-Mormonism, not anti-German radicalism,
not even anti-Catholicism—has determined the new political
alignment in Hasselquist's view.
According to Foner's formulation of Republican ideology as
"free soil, free labor, and free m e n , " 4 7 H e m l a n d e t is decidedly
Republican only insofar as it warns of a conspiratorial "Slave
Power." Those Republican principles summarized by the
phrases " f r e e s o i l " and " f r e e l a b o r " are absent from
Hasselquist's political articles. He claims to see the pro-slavery
conspiracy ever more clearly behind Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska
Act, the Fugitive Slave Law, the imperialistic machinations in
C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , the K n o w - N o t h i n g s , the vigilantes in
California, President Pierce's Kansas policy, and finally, the
Democratic party itself.4 8 Republican economic arguments about
the denigration of free labor by slave labor, that were supposed
to appeal to immigrants, were lost on Hasselquist.4 9 "Free
Labor" is mentioned three times in four years of publication, and
the one time the term appears in an economic context
Hasselquist has merely reprinted resolutions made at a political
meeting in Chicago.5 0 The article is headlined: "Good News
from Chicago. Scandinavians Hold Meeting: Stand Up on the
Side of Freedom and against Slavery." Neither are any of the
published letters to the editor concerned primarily with the
economic aspects of slavery. Hasselquist and many of his readers
seem not to have thought i n terms of any positive statement of
anti-slavery like "dignity of labor."
Insofar as e t h n i c i t y is relevant to party preference in
H e m l a n d e t , it helps explain Hasselquist's active but critical
250
non-partisanship i n an era when non-partisan editors were rare
and u n a p p r e c i a t e d . 5 1 Many factors probably determined
Hasselquist's non-partisanship; certainly nativism was among
them. His call for the separation of the Swedish church and state
and his criticisms of the Catholic Church for mixing religion and
politics logically left h im as a clergyman and editor of a political
paper little choice but non-partisanship.5 2 That, however, is
never m e n t i o n e d in H e m l a n d e t . The r e l i g i o u s half of
H e m l a n d e t ' s t w o - f o l d m i s s i o n might e a s i l y have been
s a c r i f i c e d — a s , i n d e e d , r e l i g i o u s u n i t y was among the
Norwegian-American Lutherans and several other church
bodies5 3—by injudicious political stances. Nothing, however, is
ever m e n t i o n e d in H e m l a n d e t about this either. What
Hasselquist does affirm again and again is that the best defense
against nativism is political education and sophistication that
allow one to act according to decisions on issues rather than on
the allurements of personalities or parties.5 4 Irish immigrants
who are allegedly carted around as "voting cattle" for Douglas'
purposes at election time are scorned.5 5 Irish-American abuses,
however, seem to be mentioned not to dissuade Swedes from
voting Democratic or from participating politically in general,
but r a t h e r f r om p a r t i c i p a t i n g b l i n d l y . N o n - p a r t i s an
independence leaves the voter uncompromised by political
horse-trading and free to vote or act according to conscience.
B e i n g able to vote according to p r i n c i p l e is especially
important when the choice is conceived of as one between good
and evil. That slavery is evil, Hasselquist was certain:
It is ungodly in its basis and cannot be reconciled with
Christianity i n the long run or defended by a conscience
which has been washed in the blood that was shed for all
men regardless of and expressly separate from the
differences between races and classes.56
And that evil must be vanquished was equally certain. We saw,
above, Hasselquist's terse reply to the Swedish-born Southerner
who admits that slavery is e v i l but tries to rationalize its
continuance.
Can Hasselquist then be considered a sub rosa abolitionist or
at least a Republican Radical? He does condemn slavery in much
the same terms as the abolitionists. According to Foner,
abolitionists decried it " i n extremely personal terms, centering
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their analysis on the sin of slaveholding rather than on the
system's institutional character."5 7 Were it not for Hasselquist's
expressed aversion for the abolitionists' excessive fervor, one
could perhaps consider him among them. Hasselquist's cool
coverage of L i n c o l n during the Lincoln-Douglas debates warms
somewhat after the Quincey debate, in which Lincoln discussed
the Democratic and Republican parties' differences over
whether or not slavery is an evil. To Hasselquist, Lincoln had
put his finger on t h e difference between the two parties.
H e m l a n d e t reprints on its first page that part of Lincoln's speech
which contains the sentence: "The Republican party considers it
[slavery] an evil—we believe that it is a moral, social, and
political e v i l . " Hasselquist postscripts, "But is not Douglas a
remarkable man who has not yet during the whole campaign
declared that slavery is an e v i l ? " 5 8 Hasselquist's positions on the
need to divorce the federal government from slavery advocates,
to repeal the Fugitive Slave Law, and to prohibit additional slave
states are strong and frequent.5 9 That might justify counting him
as a covert Republican Radical, were it not for his adamant
non-partisanship.
If anti-slavery identifies proper political parties, active but
moderate and above all critical non-partisanship characterizes
the proper political activist. H e m l a n d e t again and again urges its
readers to participate p o l i t i c a l l y . 6 0 Hasselquist does not hide his
own engagement—whether collecting petitions in favor of the
Illinois version of the Maine Law or helping to preside over the
previously mentioned meeting of Galesburg Anti-Nebraska
f o r c e s . 6 1 L i k e their free church brethren i n Sweden, the
Swedish-American Lutheran clergy with their free church
sympathies were generally politically active, much more so than
the N o r w e g i a n - A m e r i c a n clergy with their state church
affinities.6 2
Regardless of the particular political activity, however, one is
to act moderately. When according to a nineteenth century
"domino theory" conspiratorial pro-slavery forces threaten to
engulf the South after Kansas falls, Hasselquist warns of the
danger but counsels caution and collectedness.6 3 While the
Catholic church's inordinate power over its members' lay and
commercial affairs threatens American democracy, hostility
toward individual Catholics is condemned and readers are
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admonished to consider the issues moderately.6 4 Political rallies
invariably make Hasselquist uncomfortable. He finds the cheers
and w i l d shouts before the burning effigy of Pierce at a
Republican rally frightening and distasteful.6 5 Ander gives one
the impression that H e m l a n d e f s first editor was swept up in the
p o l i t i c a l e n t h u s i a sm of the L i n c o l n - D o u g l a s debates.66
H e m l a n d e t , however, reports that "the screaming, the large flags
and processions" introduce false considerations into the political
arena: " F o r i n this case so much depends on money, the prospect
of favors, elegant shows, and such that [public rallies] cannot
always be a sure yardstick."6 7
Moderation is desireable because it promotes the critical
consideration of issues and lessens the risk of dwelling on mere
personality. Reporting the brawling political fervor observed
d u r i n g a t r i p to Indiana i n f a l l 1856, Hasselquist urges
concentration on issues rather than persons, because " i f that was
more generally practiced, both in political and i n religious
controversy, the truth ought thereby triumph and the senses be
left more freedom, without 'excitement' [ s i c , in English], to test
what is right and t r u e . " 6 8 Although Hasselquist does not say so,
Sumner's personal attack on Brooks' kinsman, Senator Butler,
may be the reason Hasselquist considered Sumner's speech
extreme.6 9 Hasselquist reports "not a l i t t l e " dissatisfaction
because the principals of the Galesburg Lincoln-Douglas debate
"spent too much time with each other's person and discussed far
too little the large and important questions which are connected
with their e l e c t i o n . " 7 0
The o v e r r i d i n g importance of issues helps explain the
paramount virtue of non-partisanship. We have already noted
that H e m l a n d e t ' s independence of party stems in some measure
from Hasselquist's sensitivity to nativist jingoisms about
immigrant voting cattle. His aversion to party affiliation is also
based on principle. While implying that other papers may be led
to attack persons rather than discuss ideas because they receive
financial aid from "some source other than subscriptions,"71
Hasselquist denies that H e m l a n d e t ' s support has been bought or
traded and affirms that his views grow from Scripture and an
acquaintance with American history and conditions.7 2 This
principle of non-partisanship is most succinctly formulated in
the final issue Hasselquist edits: "Politically, H e m l a n d e t has
253
held itself completely independent, and when it has supported a
certain party, it has done so not because of pressure from that
party but because of honesty and firm c o n v i c t i o n . " 7 3
The Reverend Tufve N. Hasselquist's tenure as editor of
H e m l a n d e t from 1855 through 1858 is, then, the record of a path
carefully chosen through the confusion of the United States
political realignment of the 1850s. Opposition to slavery brings
H e m l a n d e t into the Republican sphere, but its editor repeatedly
affirms political non-partisanship and encourages his readers to
consider issues rather than be taken i n by personalities or
parties. Swedish immigrants are prodded to participate in U.S.
politics, yet to do so with circumspection and moderation. A l l in
all Hasselquist's stance is remarkable in light of the excited
p o l i t i c a l climate during the p r e - C i v i l War decade of party
realignment.
NOTES
1 H e m l a n d e t , 4 May 1855, p. 1. The author of this essay translated this and the
other Swedish language materials quoted.
2 O. Fritiof Ander, T h e C a r e e r a n d I n f l u e n c e o f T. N . H a s s e l q u i s t , A
S w e d i s h - A m e r i c a n C l e r g y m a n , Journalist and E d u c a t o r (Rock Island, Illinois,
1931), p. 11.
3 H e m l a n d e t , 3 January 1855, p. 1.
4 Cf. Foner's discussion of ideology in F r e e S o i l , F r e e L a b o r , F r e e M e n : The
I d e o l o g y o f t h e R e p u b l i c a n Party b e f o r e t h e C i v i l W a r (N.Y., 1969), p. 5.
5 Foner, F r e e S o i l , F r e e L a b o r , F r e e M e n ; Fehrenbacher, P r e l u d e to G r e a t n e s s :
L i n c o l n in t h e 1 8 0 0 s (Stanford, California, 1962); Mayer, T h e R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y ,
1 8 5 4 - 1 9 6 4 (New York, 1964). The histories of Scandinavian-American
immigration found most helpful are cited in subsequent notes.
6 E t h n i c V o t e r s a n d t h e E l e c t i o n o f L i n c o l n , ed. Frederick Luebke (Lincoln,
Nebraska, 1971), demonstrates different approaches of those who argue that
ethno-cultural factors were decisive for the realignment. Foner, however,
emphasizes antipathy to slavery rather than to ethnic or religious affiliation as
central to political reorganization in the North. Dale Baum of the University of
Minnesota has corroborated this interpretation in his as yet unpublished essay,
"The Political Realignment of the 1850s: Know-Nothingism and the Republican
Majority in Massachusetts."
7 O. Fritiof Ander, "Swedish-American Newspapers and the Republican Party,
1855- 1875," A u g u s t a n a H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y P u b l i c a t i o n s , II (1932), 66.
8 Foner, pp. 59-60.
9 Ander, H a s s e l q u i s t , pp. 8-9.
1 0 Quoted in George Stephenson, T h e R e l i g i o u s A s p e c t s o f S w e d i s h
I m m i g r a t i o n : A S t u d y o f I m m i g r a n t C h u r c h e s (Minneapolis, 1932), p. 169.
1 1 Ander, H a s s e l q u i s t , pp. 7,12.
12 I b i d . , p. 31.
13 I b i d . , pp. 24-25.
254
1 4 Eric Norelius, T. N . H a s s e l q u i s t : L e f n a d s t e c k n i n g (Rock Island, 111., n.d.), p.
60.
1 5 Stephenson, p. 170.
16 H e m l a n d e t , 3 January 1855, p. 1.
17 I b i d . , 20 November 1855, p. 3.
18 I b i d . , January 1855, p. 1.
1 9 Oscar Backlund, A C e n t u r y o f the S w e d i s h A m e r i c a n Press (Chicago, 1952),
p. 8.
2 0 Ander, H a s s e l q u i s t , p. 39.
2 1 H e m l a n d e t , 18 December 1858, p. 1.
2 2 Stephenson, p. 198. S v e n s k a A m e r i k a n a r e n , a liberal non-sectarian paper,
began publication in Chicago in September, 1866.
2 3 Backlund, pp. 11-13, 20-22; Eric Norelius, The Journals of E r i c N o r e l i us
(Philadelphia, 1967), pp. 34-35; Emeroy Johnson, E r i c N o r e l i u s : P i o n e er
M i d w e s t P a s t o r and C h u r c h m a n (Rock Island, Illinois, 1954), pp. 70-72. The
four papers were S k a n d i n a v e n , a non-sectarian Democratic paper, published in
New York City from 1851 to 1853; M i n n e s o t a P o s t e n , a non-partisan Swedish
Lutheran paper, published in Red Wing, Minnesota, from 1857 to 1858, when its
editor became editor of H e m l a n d e t ; D e n S v e n s k a R e p u b l i k a n e n , a Republican,
free-church, anti-Lutheran paper, published in Galva and Chicago, Illinois, from
1856 to 1858; and Frihetsvännen, a Baptist Republican paper, published in
Galesburg, Illinois, from fall 1858 through 1859.
2 4 Arlow Anderson, T h e I m m i g r a n t T a k e s H i s S t a n d : T h e N o r w e g i a n -
A m e r i c a n P r e s s a n d P u b l i c A f f a i r s , 1 8 4 7 - 1 8 7 2 (Northfield, Minnesota, 1953), pp.
16-17,12-13,18,72-74.
2 5 H e m l a n d e t , 14 April 1855, p. 1; 4 May 1855, p. 1; 14 July 1855, p. 1; 24
October 1856, p. 3; 3 March 1858, p. 2; 13 October 1858, p. 2.
2 6 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, 28 July 1855, 3 July 1856, 16 February 1858, 3 March
1858,30 March 1858.
2 7 I b i d . , 24 February 1855, pp. 1-2; 10 March 1855, pp. 1-2; 31 March 1855, p.
1.
2 8 I b i d . , 10 March 1855, p. 3. An article reports that Galesburg
citizens—Swedes for the most part—had kept strong liquor out of their town until
an American built a tavern outside the city limits; whereupon a committee of ten,
sent by a public meeting, asked the proprietor to shut down and assured him that
if he did not comply, the meeting was prepared to take stronger measures.
2 9 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, p. 3; 2 June 1855, p. 1.
3 0 I b i d . , 2 June 1855, p. 1.
3 1 Nels Hokanson, S w e d i s h I m m i g r a n t s in L i n c o l n ' s T i m e (New York, 1942), p.
33.
3 2 H e m l a n d e t , 28 August 1855, p. 2.
3 3 I b i d . , 4 October 1855, p. 1.
3 4 I b i d . , 2 June 1855, p. 3; 16 June 1855, p. 1; 8 September 1855, p. 1; 15 August
1856, p. 3.
3 5 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, p. 2.
3 6 I b i d . , 16 June 1855, p. 2.
3 7IZnd.,28July 1855, p. 3.
3 8 I b i d . , 14 June 1856, p. 3 and 18 July 1856, p. 1.
3 9 Mayer, p. 38.
4 0 H e m l a n d e t , 31 May 1856, p. 2.
4 1 I b i d . , 15 August 1856, p. 2.
4 2 I b i d . , 24 February 1855, p. 2; 10 March 1855, p. 2.; 16 June 1855, p. 2.
4 3 I b i d . , 15 January 1856, p. 3.
4 4 I b i d . , 3 ] u l y 1856, p. 1.
255
4 5 I b i d . , 19 October 1858, p. 2.
4 6 I b i d . , 31 August 1858, p. 1.
4 7 Foner, pp. 9,87 ff.
4 8 Cf. H e m l a n d e t , 24 February 1855, p. 2; 15 August 1856, p. 1; 20 September
1855, p. 3; July 1856, p. 1.
4 9 Foner, p. 58.
5 0 H e m l a n d e t , 29 August 1856, p. 2; 13 October 1858, p. 1; 19 October 1858, p.
1.
5 1 Fehrenbacher, p. 11.
5 2 H e m l a n d e t , 10 March 1855, pp. 1-2.
5 3 Anderson, pp. 18, 72-74; Fehrenbacher, p. 12; H e m l a n d e t , 25 May 1858, p. 1
and 8 February 1859, p. 1.
5 4 H e m l a n d e t , 10 March 1855, p. 1; 31 March 1855, p. 2; 2 June 1855, p. 1; 4
October 1855, p. 1; 29 August 1856, p. 1; 17 August 1858, p. 2; 14 September
1858, p. 2.
5 5 I b i d . , 26 October 1858, p. 2.
5 6 I b i d . , 2 June 1855, p. 1. Cf. also 10 October 1856, p. 1 and 24 October 1856, p.
1.
5 7 Foner, p. 60.
5 8 H e m l a n d e t , 26 October 1858, p. 1.
5 9 Foner considers these three areas basic to the Radicals' program in the
1850s: pp. 126-128. Cf. H e m l a n d e t , Slavery and the federal government: 20
September 1855, p. 3; 3 July 1856, p. 1; 15 August 1856, p. 1; Fugitive Slave Law:
24 February 1855, p. 1; 30 June 1855, p. 3; 25 September 1856, p. 1; 31 August
1858, p. 1; Prohibition of more slave states: 31 March 1855, p. 3; 15 August 1856,
p. 1;29 August 1856, p. 2.
6 0 Cf. H e m l a n d e t , 31 March 1855, pp. 1, 2-3; 4 May 1855, p. 3; 18 July 1856, p.
1; 10 October 1856, p. 1; 28 September 1858, p. 2; 26 October 1858, p. 2.
6 1 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, p. 3 and 14 June 1856, p. 3.
6 2 Anderson, pp. 72-74; Stephenson, pp. 392-393; Hokanson, p. 56; Sten
Carlsson, "Skandinaviska politiker i Minnesota" in U t v a n d r i n g : D e n s v e n s ka
e m i g r a t i o n e n till A m e r i k a i h i s t o r i s k t p e r s p e k t i v , ed. Ann-Sofie Kälvemark
(Malmö, 1973), pp. 212-243. Herman G. Nelson, "Swedish Settlers in Rockford,"
S w e d i s h P i o n e e r H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y , III (October 1952), p. 99: In the election
of 1860, "Forty-eight of the Swedish newcomers to Rockford, who had become
naturalized citizens, assembled in a body in the east-side square of the city. With
the Rev. Mr. Andreen [the Swedish Lutheran pastor] at their head, they marched
in a body across Rock River to the courthouse on the west side to cast their
votes."
6 3 H e m l a n d e t , 2 June 1855, p. 2.
6 4 I b i d . , 10 March 1855, p. 2.
6 5 I b i d . , 25 September 1856, p. 1.
6 6 Ander, "Swedish-American Newspapers and the Republican Party," p. 67.
6 7 H e m l a n d e t , 13 October 1858, p. 2.
6 8 I b i d . , 25 September 1856, p. 1.
6 9 I b i d . , 31 May 1856, p. 2. Cf. Mayer, p. 37.
7 0 I b i d . , 13 October 1858, p. 2.
7 1 I b i d . , 14 September 1858, p. 2.
7 2 I b i d . , 24 October 1856, p. 3.
7 3 I b i d . , 18 December 1858, p. 1.
The author wishes to thank Professor Nils Hasselmo of the Department of
Scandinavian at the University of Minnesota, whose careful reading and
knowledgeable suggestions strengthened this essay.
256

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A C T I V E B U T C R I T I C A L NON-PARTISANSHIP:
A S W E D I S H - A M E R I C A N NEWSPAPER E D I T OR
A N D T H E P O L I T I C A L R E A L I G N M E N T OF
T H E 1850s
W I L L I A M C. B E Y ER
"It is true: the middle way is a small thread, quite difficult to
find," but with God's help one must try; so counseled immigrant,
clergyman, and newspaper editor, Tufve Nilsson Hasselquist, in
1855.1 Three years earlier, filled with disestablishmentarian and
republican sympathies, Hasselquist had been pulled to the
United States.2 Once on land he soon found himself amid more
complex religious, social, and political currents than he seems to
have anticipated before his crossing. Hasselquist's attempts to
find his way through the complexity of mid-nineteenth century
America have been in part recorded in H e m l a n d e t , D e t g a m l a
o c h d e t N y a (The Homeland, the O l d and the New), the
newspaper he founded in 1855 and edited until 1858. This
semi-weekly was to last 60 years and thus become the first
successful Swedish-language newspaper published in the
United States. Hasselquist himself was to become the first
president and guiding light of the Augustana Synod—the largest
Swedish organization i n America—as well as the founder and
president of Augustana College, the first and most important
Swedish-American college. A l l of this, however, lay in the
uncertain but promising future when Hasselquist published his
first issue of H e m l a n d e t in Galesburg, Illinois, on January 3,
1855.3
Much of the recent historical work about the United States
during the nineteenth century attempts to shed light on mass
political behavior by analyzing voting returns. This essay uses a
more traditional source, a newspaper, to learn something about a
more traditional historical subject, an articulate interpreter of
events. The opinionated, personal journalism in H e m l a n d e t is
the subject of this analysis of Hasselquist's political ideology
from 1855 to 1858.4 While account must be taken of Hasselquist
in dialog with some of his readers, the letters to the editor are too
242
T.N. HASSELQUIST
few to justify calling this a study of Swedish-American public
opinion. The books of E r i c Foner, Don Fehrenbacher, and
George Mayer about the Republican party in the 1850s together
with works about Scandinavian-American immigration history
provide the ideological context in which Hasselquist thought
and worked.5
A close reading of the political commentary in H e m l a n d e t
d u r i n g H a s s e l q u i s t ' s e d i t o r s h i p leads one to two major
conclusions. First, even this conventional historical source
supports recent criticisms of those who would find ethno-cultural
factors central to the political realignment of the 1850s.6 Slavery
rather than ethnicity or religion is definitely the salient issue
both for Hasselquist and those readers of H e m l a n d e t who write
to him. When broaching party preference, Hasselquist invokes
ethnicity much more to encourage politically active but critical
n o n - p a r t i s a n s h i p than to disparage Democrats or exalt
Republicans. Second, H e m l a n d e t is not the unquestioningly
Republican party sheet that O. Fritiof Ander, Hasselquist's
biographer and one of the major figures in Swedish-American
historiography, has made it out to be. Ander portrays Hasselquist
as a G r e e l e y e s q u e propagandist for whom becoming a
Republican was "almost a matter of salvation."7 Hasselquist,
243
however, repeatedly declares himself to be against slavery rather
than for any party, despite his activities on behalf of the
Republicans. As a result, H e m l a n d e t more closely resembles the
"non-political anti-slavery" advocates Eric Foner describes than
the ardent Republican Editor Ander suggests.8
Before emigrating at the age of thirty-six, Hasselquist came to
be considered something of a low-church, pietistic radical within
the Swedish state church. A popular debater and preacher, he
advocated church reform and even helped publish a religious
newspaper favoring the disestablishment of the state church.9
He objected to the established church as being "most certainly
inconsistent with both the Word of God and all experience."10
The puritanical measures he instituted to improve the morality
and temperance of his parishioners helped bring about a
Wesleyian type of revival within his congregations, while his
criticisms incurred h im the animosity of church officials.11
When in 1852 the Swedish Lutheran congregation in
Galesburg, I l l i n o i s , c a l l e d Hasselquist to be its pastor, he
a c c e p t e d w i t h l i t t l e h e s i t a t i o n . The rough and tumble
competition for souls Hasselquist found in the U.S. was to
temper his free-church enthusiasm;1 2 however, many of his
commitments on the North American prairie are consistent with
his career before leaving Sweden: puritan ethics, temperance
advocacy, popular ministry, and no reluctance for public activity.
Hasselquist spent his first years in the U.S. establishing himself
in Galesburg and the surrounding territory. His conduct during
the cholera epidemic in 1854, his low-church accessibility, and
his strong leadership in the chaotic frontier settlements account
for his pivotal role in the "religious awakening" in Galesburg
and neighboring Knoxville i n 1855. By 1856 Hasselquist's
congregations had grown sizeably.13
A contemporary notes with understatement that Hasselquist
was "most assiduously o c c u p i e d " from 1855 to 1858.14
Hasselquist managed to minister to three congregations and
several preaching stations; almost single-handedly publish, edit,
and write two newspapers (after July 1856, D e t Rätta H e m l a n d e t
[The Real Homeland], a religious paper, was issued bi-monthly
in alternate weeks from H e m l a n d e t ) ; lead and participate in
church meetings at various levels; and travel as a clerical
ambassador to such distant places as Minnesota, Indiana,
P e n n s y l v a n i a , and N e w York. D e s p i t e all this a c t i v i t y,
244
Hasselquist retained a keen sense of his constituency. Drawing
on his background as a farmer's son and appealing to the prairie
farmers' everyday experience, he could preach popular sermons
that, for example, pictured heaven as the place with a homestead
law of long standing, where one without charge need only stake a
c l a i m . 1 5 H e m l a n d e t , thus, was only one of the tasks which
Hasselquist had in hand in the late 1850s.
Potentially the membership of a Swedish Lutheran free
church i n America and the readership of H e m l a n d e t were
v i r t u a l l y i d e n t i c a l : simply, the great majority of Swedish
immigrants to the U.S. T h e newspaper, therefore, was
understandably conceived of both as broadly and yet as
specifically as possible. The paper would carry the political as
well as religious news from both Europe and America,1 6 and
initial subscribers were signed up from Iowa to New York, and
from Vermont to Texas.1 7 The Midwest, however, received most
of Hasselquist's attention. Already i n the first issue, it is
announced that publication would be moved as soon as possible
from Galesburg to Chicago, "the midpoint of the Great W e s t , " 1 8
and the unofficial capital of Swedish-America.
This double focus on the sacred and the secular paid off, both
for the burgeoning church and the fledgling paper. Certain
circumstances helped. Sweden's Compulsory Education Act of
1842 had helped promote wide-spread literacy,1 9 and whatever
Hasselquist's aversion to the state church, all Swedish emigrants
were at least nominally Lutheran. Between 1855 and 1859, when
H e m l a n d e t was turned over to the Swedish Lutheran Publishing
Society and moved to Chicago, the church grew from a handful of
congregations and two pastors to twenty-nine congregations with
3,000 members served by thirteen ministers.2 0 During the same
time, H e m l a n d e t went from 400 to 1,000 subscribers.2 1 A serious
competitor for the Swedish readership did not appear until
1866.2 2 Not that attempts were not made. Four other Swedish
language papers failed for lack of support during the late 1850s.23
And not that other alternatives d id not exist. Besides, of course,
newspapers in English, Norwegian language papers had been
published i n the U.S. since 1847. In Europe, Swedes and
Norwegians had mutually intelligible languages and a political
union under a common king. A l l of the Norwegian-American
papers, however, were tainted with past or present support of
" t h e D e m o c r a c y " ; most were p u b l i s h e d i n southeastern
245
Wisconsin; none could proclaim unequivocal political a n d
religious aversion to slavery; and none, after all, was Swedish.24
The early issues of H e m l a n d e t try to make sense of the strange
U.S. political and social situation in the midst of the turbulent
1850s. Over and over again Hasselquist calls attention to
contradictions.2 5 Well aware of the current political upheaval, he
repeatedly tries to discern emerging political alignments.26
Under the rubric, " T h e General Condition of America," he takes
s t o c k . 2 7 The strong p r o h i b i t i o n movement and American
religious piety bode well, but inconsistencies abound. "The
most grandiose freedom and yet the most degrading slavery exist
side by side i n the republic": the critical stance is quintessential
Hasselquist.
In these initial issues, Hasselquist finds the central political
questions to be temperance, slavery, and the pernicious forces
causing the Know-Nothing reaction. He praises Maine-Law
legislation and more informal sanctions against strong d r i n k . 2 8
Slavery, it is noted, has already threatened to dissolve the Union
once, and even though that threat has been ameliorated, slavery
w i l l remain a most dangerous institution as long as it survives.
Catholics, together with Mormons and free-thinking German
l i b e r a l s , themselves are to blame for the Know-Nothings'
excessive h o s t i l i t y toward foreigners and Catholics, their
secrecy, and their affinity for the wrong side of the slavery
question. By spring of 1855, Hasselquist has moved through
these ruminations and decided that immoderate pro-slavery,
nativist, and anti-temperance forces are closely allied if not one
and the same.29
Hasselquist's positions are sharpened through debate with his
readers. When a correspondent reminds the editor that the
Know-Nothings are officially neutral on slavery, Hasselquist
finds that remarkable, since the question "undeniably is the most
important and decisive" before the country. Professing his own
political neutrality so that he might retain " an objective, moral
standpoint," Hasselquist finds it disappointing that a Swede
would not find slavery reprehensible in itself even if " a l l the
slaves in the whole of America were treated in the best possible
m a n n e r . " 3 0 Svante Palm, a leader of the Swedish colony in
Austin, Texas,3 1 writes that many Texas Swedes do not object to
slavery because slaves i n the South are better off than the
working classes in Sweden and because being white in the South
246
is quite simply an advantage. Although appending a conciliatory
note, Hasselquist replies caustically:
Ought not one then suggest that the working classes in
Sweden immediately enslave themselves and their small
ones to those who could afford to buy them since their
condition would then, of course, be improved?
In the same sense that it is advantageous to be born a duke
or a prince i n the O l d World, it is preferable to be born a
m i l l i o n a i r e here; is this a republican [i.e., egalitarian]
stance? C o n g e n i t a l p r i v i l e g e is p r i z e d less and less
everywhere; in the South, however, it climbs in value.3 2
Admitting slavery to be an evil, another Swedish American in the
South asks how his countrymen who have settled in the North
can possibly ally themselves with a fanatical party that would
coerce the southern states into depriving citizens of their
fortunes, contrary to the rights of the C o n s t i t u t i o n and
elementary self-determination. Hasselquist again affirms his
non-partisanship and points out that "The writer admits that
slavery is an evil; but if it is so, then it must be abolished."
Hasselquist judges trying to win Swedes over to a pro-slavery
stance fruitless, given the number of anti-slavery articles that he
says have been submitted but are too strident to be printed.3 3
Other letters celebrating the enactment of I l l i n o i s ' new
prohibition law, urging housewives to avoid becoming like
American spendthrifts, praising Senator Chase's Republicans or
I n d e p e n d e n t Democrats as the only a l t e r n a t i v e to the
Know-Nothings and the Hunker Democrats, and describing
Fremont as the Kansans' only hope for a free state are printed
without comment by the editor.3 4 Through all of the editor's
responses, it is non-partisanship and anti-slavery that are
affirmed repeatedly.
Hasselquist evaluates the new political alignments as they
grow weaker and stronger; the touchstone is slavery. The Whigs
are not mentioned at all. By May of 1855, after Hasselquist's
i n i t i a l ambivalence, he is p r e d i c t i n g the collapse of the
Know-Nothings because of the stupidity of their basic principle
that "one is incisive, capable, and worthy of public office, etc.,
only if one is born in this c o u n t r y . " 3 5 What is worse: the
Know-Nothings' " d r i v i n g force" is identified as the "slavery
interest e x c l u s i v e l y . " 3 6
247
After the Know-Nothings split on slavery in June, 1855,
H e m l a n d e t notes briefly that the party, now calling itself the
" R e p u b l i c a n " party, is reorganizing in each northern state.
H e m l a n d e t ' s restricted format disallows reprinting the Illinois
party's anti-slavery and slightly pro-immigrant platform, but
Hasselquist promises more on the party later.3 7 Subsequent
issues mention the Republicans and Hasselquist's own election
as vice-president of the Galesburg Anti-Nebraska meeting which
endorses the Illinois Republicans' Bloomington resolutions of
May 1856; however, nothing more specific about the party is
forthcoming until Hasselquist comes out in support of the
Republicans with a carefully worded endorsement in July 1856:
Since H e m l a n d e t has always stood and w i l l continue to
stand on the side of those who work against the terrible
institution of slavery in this country and since we for that
reason wish every success to the Republican party and even
want to do what we can to show our fellow Swedish-
Americans the necessity of giving their votes this fall to the
Republican party's presidential candidate, Col. Fremont, it
is certainly no more than right that we report the above
mentioned party's principles.3 8
The point here is that Hasselquist supports the Republican party
in the 1856 election because it promises to be able to get rid of
slavery.
While H e m l a n d e t ' s editor continues to move ever closer to the
Republicans after the spring of 1856, he never transforms the
paper into a Republican party sheet. The Sack of Lawrence,
Kansas, and the c a n i n g of Senator Sumner by Senator
Brooks—the two events that, according to Mayer, galvanized so
many Anti-Nebraskaites into Republicans3 9—did not publicly
convert H e m l a n d e t . In fact, the only kind words Hasselquist
ever has for Douglas come on the occasion of Douglas' objections
to Sumner's speech that prompted the beating! Apparently
Hasselquist felt that Sumner deserved what he received for his
provocative speech.40
When the rival D e n s v e n s k a R e p u b l i k a n e n (The Swedish
R e p u b l i c a n ) c r i t i c i z e s H e m l a n d e t ' s n o n - p a r t i s a n s h i p,
Hasselquist denies that " H e m l a n d e t has been neutral but rather
has in every issue i n some way stated its position with respect to
the activities of the slave-party."4 1 This rhetorical sidestep is
248
elegant, but more importantly here, it suggests Hasselquist's
view of fundamental party alignment and definition.
The Democrats receive little attention during the paper's first
year. Illinois Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas, though, is
charged again and again with having been duped by the
pro-slavery conspiracy and being responsible for the disastrous
effects of the Kansas-Nebraska A c t . 4 2 Beginning i n January 1856,
Hasselquist sees the Democrats identifying as a party with the
pro-slavery i n t e r e s t s . 4 3 The party comes under increasing
scrutiny—and censure. Calling Douglas "the Democratic party's
leader," Hasselquist uses the senator's "We mean to subdue
you" speech in July 1856 to ask:
And what now is the Democratic party's major goal? Yes,
that mighty and u n t i l recently l i b e r a l party has now
completely joined with the slave-party and works hand in
hand exclusively with the latter . . . for the retention and
extension of slavery.4 4
At the conclusion of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Douglas
and his supporters are judged wrong on eight counts: 1) Douglas
argues that the country c a n exist indefinitely divided between
slave and free; 2) Douglas, through his wife, is a slaveholder in
Louisiana; 3) Senator Brown of Mississippi is only one among
many slaveholders flocking to Douglas' support; 4) "popular
sovereignty" means simply "slaveholders' sovereignty"; 5)
Douglasite appeals to Swedes are senseless because Swedes
come from a country "where as long ago as 1333 it was made law
that no child of Christian parents was allowed to be a slave!"; 6)
because " s l a v e " and " s l a v e r y " are not mentioned in the
Constitution, and "Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Mason, and
others of the Union's founders were abolitionists"; 7) the
assertion of the inherent inequality of Negroes is a smear used by
Douglas to appeal to the arrogance of whites and ignores facts
like the three black prizewinners of a recent competition at a
Paris university; and 8) Douglasites use dirty campaign tactics
l i k e i n c o r r e c t l y r e p o r t i n g L i n c o l n ' s speeches, importing
Irish—"this poor people"—to Illinois to vote, announcing work
i n distant places i n order to draw off qualified voters, and
offering free whiskey i n exchange for votes.4 5 Note that only the
reference to the Irish touches ethno-cultural nerve-endings; all
eight charges, rather, center on slavery.
249
By election time in 1858, Hasselquist sees the battle lines
clearly:
The campaign is being waged between the Democratic and
the Republican parties, which is the same as saying between
those who are working for the retention and extension of
slavery and those who want to see it contained in its present
area and even there eventually starved out, so that the
United States can be made into that which it can only claim
to be, a free land. The slavery question drags into its great
whirlpool all other questions. The Republican party is the
only one that can and w i l l curtail the slave-party's power.4 6
Slavery, not any of the ethno-cultural facets of nativism—not
prohibition, not anti-Mormonism, not anti-German radicalism,
not even anti-Catholicism—has determined the new political
alignment in Hasselquist's view.
According to Foner's formulation of Republican ideology as
"free soil, free labor, and free m e n , " 4 7 H e m l a n d e t is decidedly
Republican only insofar as it warns of a conspiratorial "Slave
Power." Those Republican principles summarized by the
phrases " f r e e s o i l " and " f r e e l a b o r " are absent from
Hasselquist's political articles. He claims to see the pro-slavery
conspiracy ever more clearly behind Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska
Act, the Fugitive Slave Law, the imperialistic machinations in
C e n t r a l A m e r i c a , the K n o w - N o t h i n g s , the vigilantes in
California, President Pierce's Kansas policy, and finally, the
Democratic party itself.4 8 Republican economic arguments about
the denigration of free labor by slave labor, that were supposed
to appeal to immigrants, were lost on Hasselquist.4 9 "Free
Labor" is mentioned three times in four years of publication, and
the one time the term appears in an economic context
Hasselquist has merely reprinted resolutions made at a political
meeting in Chicago.5 0 The article is headlined: "Good News
from Chicago. Scandinavians Hold Meeting: Stand Up on the
Side of Freedom and against Slavery." Neither are any of the
published letters to the editor concerned primarily with the
economic aspects of slavery. Hasselquist and many of his readers
seem not to have thought i n terms of any positive statement of
anti-slavery like "dignity of labor."
Insofar as e t h n i c i t y is relevant to party preference in
H e m l a n d e t , it helps explain Hasselquist's active but critical
250
non-partisanship i n an era when non-partisan editors were rare
and u n a p p r e c i a t e d . 5 1 Many factors probably determined
Hasselquist's non-partisanship; certainly nativism was among
them. His call for the separation of the Swedish church and state
and his criticisms of the Catholic Church for mixing religion and
politics logically left h im as a clergyman and editor of a political
paper little choice but non-partisanship.5 2 That, however, is
never m e n t i o n e d in H e m l a n d e t . The r e l i g i o u s half of
H e m l a n d e t ' s t w o - f o l d m i s s i o n might e a s i l y have been
s a c r i f i c e d — a s , i n d e e d , r e l i g i o u s u n i t y was among the
Norwegian-American Lutherans and several other church
bodies5 3—by injudicious political stances. Nothing, however, is
ever m e n t i o n e d in H e m l a n d e t about this either. What
Hasselquist does affirm again and again is that the best defense
against nativism is political education and sophistication that
allow one to act according to decisions on issues rather than on
the allurements of personalities or parties.5 4 Irish immigrants
who are allegedly carted around as "voting cattle" for Douglas'
purposes at election time are scorned.5 5 Irish-American abuses,
however, seem to be mentioned not to dissuade Swedes from
voting Democratic or from participating politically in general,
but r a t h e r f r om p a r t i c i p a t i n g b l i n d l y . N o n - p a r t i s an
independence leaves the voter uncompromised by political
horse-trading and free to vote or act according to conscience.
B e i n g able to vote according to p r i n c i p l e is especially
important when the choice is conceived of as one between good
and evil. That slavery is evil, Hasselquist was certain:
It is ungodly in its basis and cannot be reconciled with
Christianity i n the long run or defended by a conscience
which has been washed in the blood that was shed for all
men regardless of and expressly separate from the
differences between races and classes.56
And that evil must be vanquished was equally certain. We saw,
above, Hasselquist's terse reply to the Swedish-born Southerner
who admits that slavery is e v i l but tries to rationalize its
continuance.
Can Hasselquist then be considered a sub rosa abolitionist or
at least a Republican Radical? He does condemn slavery in much
the same terms as the abolitionists. According to Foner,
abolitionists decried it " i n extremely personal terms, centering
251
their analysis on the sin of slaveholding rather than on the
system's institutional character."5 7 Were it not for Hasselquist's
expressed aversion for the abolitionists' excessive fervor, one
could perhaps consider him among them. Hasselquist's cool
coverage of L i n c o l n during the Lincoln-Douglas debates warms
somewhat after the Quincey debate, in which Lincoln discussed
the Democratic and Republican parties' differences over
whether or not slavery is an evil. To Hasselquist, Lincoln had
put his finger on t h e difference between the two parties.
H e m l a n d e t reprints on its first page that part of Lincoln's speech
which contains the sentence: "The Republican party considers it
[slavery] an evil—we believe that it is a moral, social, and
political e v i l . " Hasselquist postscripts, "But is not Douglas a
remarkable man who has not yet during the whole campaign
declared that slavery is an e v i l ? " 5 8 Hasselquist's positions on the
need to divorce the federal government from slavery advocates,
to repeal the Fugitive Slave Law, and to prohibit additional slave
states are strong and frequent.5 9 That might justify counting him
as a covert Republican Radical, were it not for his adamant
non-partisanship.
If anti-slavery identifies proper political parties, active but
moderate and above all critical non-partisanship characterizes
the proper political activist. H e m l a n d e t again and again urges its
readers to participate p o l i t i c a l l y . 6 0 Hasselquist does not hide his
own engagement—whether collecting petitions in favor of the
Illinois version of the Maine Law or helping to preside over the
previously mentioned meeting of Galesburg Anti-Nebraska
f o r c e s . 6 1 L i k e their free church brethren i n Sweden, the
Swedish-American Lutheran clergy with their free church
sympathies were generally politically active, much more so than
the N o r w e g i a n - A m e r i c a n clergy with their state church
affinities.6 2
Regardless of the particular political activity, however, one is
to act moderately. When according to a nineteenth century
"domino theory" conspiratorial pro-slavery forces threaten to
engulf the South after Kansas falls, Hasselquist warns of the
danger but counsels caution and collectedness.6 3 While the
Catholic church's inordinate power over its members' lay and
commercial affairs threatens American democracy, hostility
toward individual Catholics is condemned and readers are
252
admonished to consider the issues moderately.6 4 Political rallies
invariably make Hasselquist uncomfortable. He finds the cheers
and w i l d shouts before the burning effigy of Pierce at a
Republican rally frightening and distasteful.6 5 Ander gives one
the impression that H e m l a n d e f s first editor was swept up in the
p o l i t i c a l e n t h u s i a sm of the L i n c o l n - D o u g l a s debates.66
H e m l a n d e t , however, reports that "the screaming, the large flags
and processions" introduce false considerations into the political
arena: " F o r i n this case so much depends on money, the prospect
of favors, elegant shows, and such that [public rallies] cannot
always be a sure yardstick."6 7
Moderation is desireable because it promotes the critical
consideration of issues and lessens the risk of dwelling on mere
personality. Reporting the brawling political fervor observed
d u r i n g a t r i p to Indiana i n f a l l 1856, Hasselquist urges
concentration on issues rather than persons, because " i f that was
more generally practiced, both in political and i n religious
controversy, the truth ought thereby triumph and the senses be
left more freedom, without 'excitement' [ s i c , in English], to test
what is right and t r u e . " 6 8 Although Hasselquist does not say so,
Sumner's personal attack on Brooks' kinsman, Senator Butler,
may be the reason Hasselquist considered Sumner's speech
extreme.6 9 Hasselquist reports "not a l i t t l e " dissatisfaction
because the principals of the Galesburg Lincoln-Douglas debate
"spent too much time with each other's person and discussed far
too little the large and important questions which are connected
with their e l e c t i o n . " 7 0
The o v e r r i d i n g importance of issues helps explain the
paramount virtue of non-partisanship. We have already noted
that H e m l a n d e t ' s independence of party stems in some measure
from Hasselquist's sensitivity to nativist jingoisms about
immigrant voting cattle. His aversion to party affiliation is also
based on principle. While implying that other papers may be led
to attack persons rather than discuss ideas because they receive
financial aid from "some source other than subscriptions,"71
Hasselquist denies that H e m l a n d e t ' s support has been bought or
traded and affirms that his views grow from Scripture and an
acquaintance with American history and conditions.7 2 This
principle of non-partisanship is most succinctly formulated in
the final issue Hasselquist edits: "Politically, H e m l a n d e t has
253
held itself completely independent, and when it has supported a
certain party, it has done so not because of pressure from that
party but because of honesty and firm c o n v i c t i o n . " 7 3
The Reverend Tufve N. Hasselquist's tenure as editor of
H e m l a n d e t from 1855 through 1858 is, then, the record of a path
carefully chosen through the confusion of the United States
political realignment of the 1850s. Opposition to slavery brings
H e m l a n d e t into the Republican sphere, but its editor repeatedly
affirms political non-partisanship and encourages his readers to
consider issues rather than be taken i n by personalities or
parties. Swedish immigrants are prodded to participate in U.S.
politics, yet to do so with circumspection and moderation. A l l in
all Hasselquist's stance is remarkable in light of the excited
p o l i t i c a l climate during the p r e - C i v i l War decade of party
realignment.
NOTES
1 H e m l a n d e t , 4 May 1855, p. 1. The author of this essay translated this and the
other Swedish language materials quoted.
2 O. Fritiof Ander, T h e C a r e e r a n d I n f l u e n c e o f T. N . H a s s e l q u i s t , A
S w e d i s h - A m e r i c a n C l e r g y m a n , Journalist and E d u c a t o r (Rock Island, Illinois,
1931), p. 11.
3 H e m l a n d e t , 3 January 1855, p. 1.
4 Cf. Foner's discussion of ideology in F r e e S o i l , F r e e L a b o r , F r e e M e n : The
I d e o l o g y o f t h e R e p u b l i c a n Party b e f o r e t h e C i v i l W a r (N.Y., 1969), p. 5.
5 Foner, F r e e S o i l , F r e e L a b o r , F r e e M e n ; Fehrenbacher, P r e l u d e to G r e a t n e s s :
L i n c o l n in t h e 1 8 0 0 s (Stanford, California, 1962); Mayer, T h e R e p u b l i c a n P a r t y ,
1 8 5 4 - 1 9 6 4 (New York, 1964). The histories of Scandinavian-American
immigration found most helpful are cited in subsequent notes.
6 E t h n i c V o t e r s a n d t h e E l e c t i o n o f L i n c o l n , ed. Frederick Luebke (Lincoln,
Nebraska, 1971), demonstrates different approaches of those who argue that
ethno-cultural factors were decisive for the realignment. Foner, however,
emphasizes antipathy to slavery rather than to ethnic or religious affiliation as
central to political reorganization in the North. Dale Baum of the University of
Minnesota has corroborated this interpretation in his as yet unpublished essay,
"The Political Realignment of the 1850s: Know-Nothingism and the Republican
Majority in Massachusetts."
7 O. Fritiof Ander, "Swedish-American Newspapers and the Republican Party,
1855- 1875," A u g u s t a n a H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e t y P u b l i c a t i o n s , II (1932), 66.
8 Foner, pp. 59-60.
9 Ander, H a s s e l q u i s t , pp. 8-9.
1 0 Quoted in George Stephenson, T h e R e l i g i o u s A s p e c t s o f S w e d i s h
I m m i g r a t i o n : A S t u d y o f I m m i g r a n t C h u r c h e s (Minneapolis, 1932), p. 169.
1 1 Ander, H a s s e l q u i s t , pp. 7,12.
12 I b i d . , p. 31.
13 I b i d . , pp. 24-25.
254
1 4 Eric Norelius, T. N . H a s s e l q u i s t : L e f n a d s t e c k n i n g (Rock Island, 111., n.d.), p.
60.
1 5 Stephenson, p. 170.
16 H e m l a n d e t , 3 January 1855, p. 1.
17 I b i d . , 20 November 1855, p. 3.
18 I b i d . , January 1855, p. 1.
1 9 Oscar Backlund, A C e n t u r y o f the S w e d i s h A m e r i c a n Press (Chicago, 1952),
p. 8.
2 0 Ander, H a s s e l q u i s t , p. 39.
2 1 H e m l a n d e t , 18 December 1858, p. 1.
2 2 Stephenson, p. 198. S v e n s k a A m e r i k a n a r e n , a liberal non-sectarian paper,
began publication in Chicago in September, 1866.
2 3 Backlund, pp. 11-13, 20-22; Eric Norelius, The Journals of E r i c N o r e l i us
(Philadelphia, 1967), pp. 34-35; Emeroy Johnson, E r i c N o r e l i u s : P i o n e er
M i d w e s t P a s t o r and C h u r c h m a n (Rock Island, Illinois, 1954), pp. 70-72. The
four papers were S k a n d i n a v e n , a non-sectarian Democratic paper, published in
New York City from 1851 to 1853; M i n n e s o t a P o s t e n , a non-partisan Swedish
Lutheran paper, published in Red Wing, Minnesota, from 1857 to 1858, when its
editor became editor of H e m l a n d e t ; D e n S v e n s k a R e p u b l i k a n e n , a Republican,
free-church, anti-Lutheran paper, published in Galva and Chicago, Illinois, from
1856 to 1858; and Frihetsvännen, a Baptist Republican paper, published in
Galesburg, Illinois, from fall 1858 through 1859.
2 4 Arlow Anderson, T h e I m m i g r a n t T a k e s H i s S t a n d : T h e N o r w e g i a n -
A m e r i c a n P r e s s a n d P u b l i c A f f a i r s , 1 8 4 7 - 1 8 7 2 (Northfield, Minnesota, 1953), pp.
16-17,12-13,18,72-74.
2 5 H e m l a n d e t , 14 April 1855, p. 1; 4 May 1855, p. 1; 14 July 1855, p. 1; 24
October 1856, p. 3; 3 March 1858, p. 2; 13 October 1858, p. 2.
2 6 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, 28 July 1855, 3 July 1856, 16 February 1858, 3 March
1858,30 March 1858.
2 7 I b i d . , 24 February 1855, pp. 1-2; 10 March 1855, pp. 1-2; 31 March 1855, p.
1.
2 8 I b i d . , 10 March 1855, p. 3. An article reports that Galesburg
citizens—Swedes for the most part—had kept strong liquor out of their town until
an American built a tavern outside the city limits; whereupon a committee of ten,
sent by a public meeting, asked the proprietor to shut down and assured him that
if he did not comply, the meeting was prepared to take stronger measures.
2 9 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, p. 3; 2 June 1855, p. 1.
3 0 I b i d . , 2 June 1855, p. 1.
3 1 Nels Hokanson, S w e d i s h I m m i g r a n t s in L i n c o l n ' s T i m e (New York, 1942), p.
33.
3 2 H e m l a n d e t , 28 August 1855, p. 2.
3 3 I b i d . , 4 October 1855, p. 1.
3 4 I b i d . , 2 June 1855, p. 3; 16 June 1855, p. 1; 8 September 1855, p. 1; 15 August
1856, p. 3.
3 5 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, p. 2.
3 6 I b i d . , 16 June 1855, p. 2.
3 7IZnd.,28July 1855, p. 3.
3 8 I b i d . , 14 June 1856, p. 3 and 18 July 1856, p. 1.
3 9 Mayer, p. 38.
4 0 H e m l a n d e t , 31 May 1856, p. 2.
4 1 I b i d . , 15 August 1856, p. 2.
4 2 I b i d . , 24 February 1855, p. 2; 10 March 1855, p. 2.; 16 June 1855, p. 2.
4 3 I b i d . , 15 January 1856, p. 3.
4 4 I b i d . , 3 ] u l y 1856, p. 1.
255
4 5 I b i d . , 19 October 1858, p. 2.
4 6 I b i d . , 31 August 1858, p. 1.
4 7 Foner, pp. 9,87 ff.
4 8 Cf. H e m l a n d e t , 24 February 1855, p. 2; 15 August 1856, p. 1; 20 September
1855, p. 3; July 1856, p. 1.
4 9 Foner, p. 58.
5 0 H e m l a n d e t , 29 August 1856, p. 2; 13 October 1858, p. 1; 19 October 1858, p.
1.
5 1 Fehrenbacher, p. 11.
5 2 H e m l a n d e t , 10 March 1855, pp. 1-2.
5 3 Anderson, pp. 18, 72-74; Fehrenbacher, p. 12; H e m l a n d e t , 25 May 1858, p. 1
and 8 February 1859, p. 1.
5 4 H e m l a n d e t , 10 March 1855, p. 1; 31 March 1855, p. 2; 2 June 1855, p. 1; 4
October 1855, p. 1; 29 August 1856, p. 1; 17 August 1858, p. 2; 14 September
1858, p. 2.
5 5 I b i d . , 26 October 1858, p. 2.
5 6 I b i d . , 2 June 1855, p. 1. Cf. also 10 October 1856, p. 1 and 24 October 1856, p.
1.
5 7 Foner, p. 60.
5 8 H e m l a n d e t , 26 October 1858, p. 1.
5 9 Foner considers these three areas basic to the Radicals' program in the
1850s: pp. 126-128. Cf. H e m l a n d e t , Slavery and the federal government: 20
September 1855, p. 3; 3 July 1856, p. 1; 15 August 1856, p. 1; Fugitive Slave Law:
24 February 1855, p. 1; 30 June 1855, p. 3; 25 September 1856, p. 1; 31 August
1858, p. 1; Prohibition of more slave states: 31 March 1855, p. 3; 15 August 1856,
p. 1;29 August 1856, p. 2.
6 0 Cf. H e m l a n d e t , 31 March 1855, pp. 1, 2-3; 4 May 1855, p. 3; 18 July 1856, p.
1; 10 October 1856, p. 1; 28 September 1858, p. 2; 26 October 1858, p. 2.
6 1 I b i d . , 4 May 1855, p. 3 and 14 June 1856, p. 3.
6 2 Anderson, pp. 72-74; Stephenson, pp. 392-393; Hokanson, p. 56; Sten
Carlsson, "Skandinaviska politiker i Minnesota" in U t v a n d r i n g : D e n s v e n s ka
e m i g r a t i o n e n till A m e r i k a i h i s t o r i s k t p e r s p e k t i v , ed. Ann-Sofie Kälvemark
(Malmö, 1973), pp. 212-243. Herman G. Nelson, "Swedish Settlers in Rockford,"
S w e d i s h P i o n e e r H i s t o r i c a l Q u a r t e r l y , III (October 1952), p. 99: In the election
of 1860, "Forty-eight of the Swedish newcomers to Rockford, who had become
naturalized citizens, assembled in a body in the east-side square of the city. With
the Rev. Mr. Andreen [the Swedish Lutheran pastor] at their head, they marched
in a body across Rock River to the courthouse on the west side to cast their
votes."
6 3 H e m l a n d e t , 2 June 1855, p. 2.
6 4 I b i d . , 10 March 1855, p. 2.
6 5 I b i d . , 25 September 1856, p. 1.
6 6 Ander, "Swedish-American Newspapers and the Republican Party," p. 67.
6 7 H e m l a n d e t , 13 October 1858, p. 2.
6 8 I b i d . , 25 September 1856, p. 1.
6 9 I b i d . , 31 May 1856, p. 2. Cf. Mayer, p. 37.
7 0 I b i d . , 13 October 1858, p. 2.
7 1 I b i d . , 14 September 1858, p. 2.
7 2 I b i d . , 24 October 1856, p. 3.
7 3 I b i d . , 18 December 1858, p. 1.
The author wishes to thank Professor Nils Hasselmo of the Department of
Scandinavian at the University of Minnesota, whose careful reading and
knowledgeable suggestions strengthened this essay.
256